Alpha-Gal & the Lone Star Tick

Our immune response against a foreign molecule present in animal products may play a role in some allergic, autoimmune, and inflammatory disorders. This reaction is thought to underlie tick bite-triggered meat allergies.

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

In the beginning, Aristotle defined two forms of life on planet earth: plants and animals. Two thousand years later, the light microscope was invented, and we discovered tiny, one-celled organisms, like amoebas. Then, the electron microscope was invented, and we were better able to characterize bacteria. Finally, in 1969, biologists recognized fungi as a separate category, and we’ve had at least five kingdoms of life ever since.

In my video Higher Quality May Mean Higher Risk, I talk about the potential downsides of consuming proteins from within our own kingdom, because of the impact our fellow animal proteins can have on boosting our liver’s production of a cancer-promoting hormone called IGF-1.

In Eating Outside Our Kingdom, I talked about other potential advantages of preferably dipping into the plant and mushroom kingdoms for dinner, not only from a food safety perspective—we’re more likely to get infected by animal pathogens than Dutch elm disease, but because of the potential for cross-reactivity between animal and human proteins. Our immune system is more likely to get confused between this and this, rather than this and that. And so, there may be less potential to trigger an autoimmune reaction—like the degenerative brain diseases I talked about in that other video. Same concept with animal proteins triggering inflammatory arthritis. In attacking some foreign animal meat protein, some of our own similarly composed tissues may get caught in the crossfire.

And, it’s not just proteins. If you remember the Neu5Gc story, there’s this sialic acid in other animals that may cause inflammation in our arteries, and help breast tumors and other human cancers grow.

Well, now, there’s a new twist has been added to the story. The reason NeuGc triggers inflammation is because humans lost the ability to make it two million years ago. And so, when our body is exposed to it through animal products, it’s treated as a foreign invader. Well, there’s another oligosaccharide, called alpha-gal, that we, chimps, and apes lost the ability to make twenty million years ago—but it’s still made by a variety of animals, including many animals we eat.

Anti-gal antibodies may be “involved in a number of detrimental processes [which] may result in allergic, autoimmune, and ‘autoimmune like’ [diseases]”—such as autoimmune thyroid disorders. You can see higher levels in Crohn’s disease victims. They react against about half of human breast tumors. And, you can even find antibodies to this stuff in atherosclerotic plaques in people’s necks. But, those are all mostly speculative risks. We do know alpha-gal is “a major obstacle” to transplanting pig organs into people—like kidneys—because our bodies reject alpha-gal as foreign. It’s considered “the major target for human anti-pig antibodies.”

It’s interesting; if you look at those who abstain from pork (for whatever reason), they have “fewer swine-specific” white cells in their bloodstream—speculating that “oral intake of pork” could ferry swine molecules into the bloodstream via “gut-infiltrating lymphocytes…to prime [the] immune response.”

So, we can have an allergic reaction to eating the kidneys too, but such severe meat allergies were considered rare—until an unusual report surfaced. “[F]irst described in 2009, the report included details on 24 cases of meat allergies triggered by tick bites. Within a year, it was obvious that the cases should be counted in [the] hundreds rather than dozens. By 2012, it was clear that there [were] thousands of cases across a large area of the southern and eastern US,” and now “present in several countries” around the world.

The lone star tick, so called because females have a white spot on their back. They’re famous for causing Masters’ disease, a Lyme-disease like syndrome, also known as STARI, southern tick-associated rash illness. But, thanks to the lone star tick “steadily expanding its range,” it’s not necessarily just so southern anymore.

Okay, but what is “the relevance of tick bites to the production” of anti-meat antibodies to alpha-gal—these allergic antibodies? Good question. What we know is you get bit by one of these ticks, and you can develop an allergy to meat. This appears to be “the first example of a response to an [external parasite] giving rise to an important form of food allergy”—either because there’s something in the tick saliva that’s cross-reacting with the alpha-gal, or, because the tick is, like, injecting you with animal allergens from its last meal.

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

In the beginning, Aristotle defined two forms of life on planet earth: plants and animals. Two thousand years later, the light microscope was invented, and we discovered tiny, one-celled organisms, like amoebas. Then, the electron microscope was invented, and we were better able to characterize bacteria. Finally, in 1969, biologists recognized fungi as a separate category, and we’ve had at least five kingdoms of life ever since.

In my video Higher Quality May Mean Higher Risk, I talk about the potential downsides of consuming proteins from within our own kingdom, because of the impact our fellow animal proteins can have on boosting our liver’s production of a cancer-promoting hormone called IGF-1.

In Eating Outside Our Kingdom, I talked about other potential advantages of preferably dipping into the plant and mushroom kingdoms for dinner, not only from a food safety perspective—we’re more likely to get infected by animal pathogens than Dutch elm disease, but because of the potential for cross-reactivity between animal and human proteins. Our immune system is more likely to get confused between this and this, rather than this and that. And so, there may be less potential to trigger an autoimmune reaction—like the degenerative brain diseases I talked about in that other video. Same concept with animal proteins triggering inflammatory arthritis. In attacking some foreign animal meat protein, some of our own similarly composed tissues may get caught in the crossfire.

And, it’s not just proteins. If you remember the Neu5Gc story, there’s this sialic acid in other animals that may cause inflammation in our arteries, and help breast tumors and other human cancers grow.

Well, now, there’s a new twist has been added to the story. The reason NeuGc triggers inflammation is because humans lost the ability to make it two million years ago. And so, when our body is exposed to it through animal products, it’s treated as a foreign invader. Well, there’s another oligosaccharide, called alpha-gal, that we, chimps, and apes lost the ability to make twenty million years ago—but it’s still made by a variety of animals, including many animals we eat.

Anti-gal antibodies may be “involved in a number of detrimental processes [which] may result in allergic, autoimmune, and ‘autoimmune like’ [diseases]”—such as autoimmune thyroid disorders. You can see higher levels in Crohn’s disease victims. They react against about half of human breast tumors. And, you can even find antibodies to this stuff in atherosclerotic plaques in people’s necks. But, those are all mostly speculative risks. We do know alpha-gal is “a major obstacle” to transplanting pig organs into people—like kidneys—because our bodies reject alpha-gal as foreign. It’s considered “the major target for human anti-pig antibodies.”

It’s interesting; if you look at those who abstain from pork (for whatever reason), they have “fewer swine-specific” white cells in their bloodstream—speculating that “oral intake of pork” could ferry swine molecules into the bloodstream via “gut-infiltrating lymphocytes…to prime [the] immune response.”

So, we can have an allergic reaction to eating the kidneys too, but such severe meat allergies were considered rare—until an unusual report surfaced. “[F]irst described in 2009, the report included details on 24 cases of meat allergies triggered by tick bites. Within a year, it was obvious that the cases should be counted in [the] hundreds rather than dozens. By 2012, it was clear that there [were] thousands of cases across a large area of the southern and eastern US,” and now “present in several countries” around the world.

The lone star tick, so called because females have a white spot on their back. They’re famous for causing Masters’ disease, a Lyme-disease like syndrome, also known as STARI, southern tick-associated rash illness. But, thanks to the lone star tick “steadily expanding its range,” it’s not necessarily just so southern anymore.

Okay, but what is “the relevance of tick bites to the production” of anti-meat antibodies to alpha-gal—these allergic antibodies? Good question. What we know is you get bit by one of these ticks, and you can develop an allergy to meat. This appears to be “the first example of a response to an [external parasite] giving rise to an important form of food allergy”—either because there’s something in the tick saliva that’s cross-reacting with the alpha-gal, or, because the tick is, like, injecting you with animal allergens from its last meal.

53 responses to “Alpha-Gal & the Lone Star Tick”

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Balance is a false concept when it comes to health. To me, your request would be like saying on another site, “You should really give a ballanced view of eating sugar. You are being too biased talking about the problems with sugar. You are not going to reach as many people that way.” If I went to a site to learn about sugar, I would want to know the expert’s honest opinion. I would not want it sugar (ha, ha) coated. After absorbing the honest information about sugar, it would be up to me to decide what to do with that information. Personally, I understand that sugar is bad for me. I still eat it, but I limit how much I eat. (FYI: I think the evidence against meat, dairy and eggs show those products to be way than sugar health-wise, not mention unethical, and so I chose to simply remove them from my diet rather than try to limit them.)

The same is true on this site. Dr. Greger can’t tell you what the healthiest dairy is if he doesn’t believe it is healthy. Period. My take is: This site is not a popularity contest. It is a place to learn the truth (at least one person’s truth – shared by many) about nutrition. Then, as you have already chosen, you can decide which pieces of advice you will follow and which ones you will ignore. At least you will be educated on the topic and know what you are doing / knowingly take on the risks.

I like your idea of baby steps. Cold turkey (ha, ha again) just doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes ‘baby steps’ is exactly what people need. But, again, it is not up to Dr. Greger to change his health message. Instead, I hope that people who are looking for baby steps will ask those kinds of questions and people like me and other (better) comments on this site will provide useful suggestions.

It sounds like you yourself have made a series of baby steps that are likely to add to you and your family’s health. That’s very cool. You are on a path. Hopefully you are not stuck. Hopefully you will be able to continue down the path of good health. I’m glad you visit this site. I hope this site continues to help you, and I wish you all the best health in future.

I guess over the last four years, I, too, have taken baby steps to being Vegan. First I eliminated meat and then over time, I stopped eating eggs, and greatly reduced dairy in my diet. I am in the last phase now of eliminating foods that have traces of dairy in them, such as chocolates and coffee creamers. I now buy the So Delicious coconut milk creamer as well as Silk soy creamer. Just like you, I limit sugar for prudence sake, but from an ethical point view, meat, dairy and eggs are a complete no no, even though I haven’t completely gotten there, but I have improved a lot. Writing down everything I eat everyday does help in that it makes me think about everything I put in my mouth. I lost a lot of weight before I became plant based by exercise and writing down what I eat, but after becoming plant based, I lost even more weight. I still place a high priority on exercise as well- I commute to work by bicycle. It is important to be plant based, but also to do it correctly. Some ex “vegans” say this diet created so and so deficiency, but that is their fault that they didn’t make sure they got these vitamins from the beginning. I have been drinking fortified Soymilk from the beginning to get enough B12 and calcium. I now also eat Red Star nutritional yeast to add even more B12, as well as the other B vitamins. I eat greens every single day, as well as ground flaxseeds and lots of nuts as well. I think I get enough vitamin D from being out in the sun bicycling, but I should get a test.

Daniel: Thanks for sharing your story! I really enjoyed reading it. I’m more like you than the cold-turkey-ers. I admire people who can completely change their diet in a day, but I’m not one of them.

You sound like you are totally on the right path to me. I find that every time I feel that I have hit a plateau, I am able to make another small change to my diet that helps me be healthier. As far as I’ve come, I still have a long way way to go (in my book). I just keep with the “yet” method and find it does well for me. Instead of saying, “I don’t like leafy greens and will never eat enough of them.” I try to remember to say, “I don’t like leafy greens YET. I don’t eat enough of them YET. But I will keep trying and keep an eye out for ways that will help me move in that direction.” I find that by keeping an open mind like that, I am often able to take the next baby step — surprising myself, because I didn’t really think I would ever really do it.

Thanks, Thea. One thing you might try for the sake of greens is finding the right seasoning. I am from Indiana, but now live in Atlanta and one thing Southerners know how to do is to season greens to make them taste good. Of course, the fatback is a big no no, but what I have found makes greens taste good is balsamic vinegar. I eat raw turnip greens, along with a beet slice, a carrot and one half of a small tomato. I put a little nutritional yeast, turmeric, curry powder and the balsamic vinegar and blend them all up. I find I like the taste of it. The one green I don’t have too much of a taste for is Kale, mainly because it is so bitter. But I don’t think Turnip Greens have any less nutritional value. Also, getting rid of animal products to me is more inspired by the enormous cruelty involved and does not depend on it being unhealthy, even though I do think it is unhealthy. Even if they proved there was a health value to eating animal products, I am still not going to eat them, mainly because of the horrible images I have seen of animal mistreatment on factory farms. Thanks again, and good luck.

I would be curious if you found the taste to be good in this. Balsamic vinegar is delicious and it seemed that once I discovered it, the price went up! I discovered it going to salad bar restaurants. Turmeric also has a nice taste, and Dr Greger also recommends it for the health value. I actually saw real turmeric roots at the farmer’s market here. I haven’t tried them yet, I mainly use the powdered form. You might also add a few walnuts (or other nuts), in order to increase absorption of the carotenoids. Mustard greens could be tried, as they are actually very spicy in taste, and not bitter. If you respond to this, I would know, because I would be emailed to know if there was a response.

Funny, baby steps never seems to work for me. I changed my diet overnight a few times. First to Atkins. Then to pesco-lacto-vegetarianism. Then to veganism. These aren’t really baby steps. I simply decided at some point to stop eating all animal products.

Because I am about to begin a more intensive exercise regimen with a personal trainer, I will have to add more protein and calories. Likely beans and nuts. Grain is great, but with my history of metabolic syndrome, I am trying to keep my intake to more modest levels for grain.

It is funny that baby steps works for some people and dramatic lifestyle change works for others. When we have people who are admitted to our hospital for a heart attack who have smoked all their lives, sometimes it is a really teachable moment for them, and they literally quit smoking on the spot, never to start again, despite decades of daily tobacco consumption. I think people need to be scared to change their diets. The three things people fear are loss of their loved ones, loss of their health, and loss of financial security (getting hit in their pocketbook).

Toxins: I haven’t had a chance to watch the video, but I wanted to comment about the general topic sooner rather than later:

If it is a choice between baby steps and no steps (status quo without any change), as was the case with me and many others, I have a hard time believing that anyone would argue that baby steps is not the way to go in some cases. I guess I’ll have to watch the video… :-)

Toxins: I finally got a chance to watch this video. I completely agree that is is a *great* video. I have long internalized this information and completely agree with everything the speaker says. Except.

Except that the reality is that we live in a world where the vast majority of people Just Don’t Get It. When surrounded by family, friends, doctors, government agencies, media, and our own long history all telling us to do unhealthy things (unhealthy for our current selves and the planet and the survival of humanity), it can be extremely difficult for some people (like myself) to change dramatically from one day to the next. If, in that context, it takes someone say 6 to 12 months to make a change, that’s pretty darn good in my opinion. (Took me about 6-7 months to wean myself off dairy and eggs.)

Perhaps one of the issues here is really our understanding of “baby steps”. As the speaker defines them, I agree that “baby steps” is just not going to work. If Meetout Monday were the sole level of (type of) change people are able to make for the foreseeable future, we are doomed. But if “baby steps” means more what I am thinking, in terms of a concerted effort that takes someone from SAD to WFPB in a few months to a year, I think that is reasonable and the best of what you can expect with some types of people.

If I were the ruler of the world, I would force a massive world-wide phase out of human consumption of meat, dairy and eggs. In that context, everyone would be working to make that happen. And in that context, the idea of “baby steps” would not be necessary – because even people like me would find it easy to make such a change in that context. But given where the world is right now, I just don’t think we can expect everyone to be able to drastically change their diet from one day to the next.

That’s just my current thinking/response to the video and this discussion. I greatly appreciate you bringing this video to my attention! I will definitely be sharing it with other people and I think it is a great high-level summary of one of the most important issues of our time.

DGH: Thanks for your comments. I totally agree with you concerning, “It is funny that…” It really is funny. While I admire people who work the way you do, I personally just do not seem to work that way.

I also appreciate your comment about “teachable moment”. Those kinds of life events really can make a difference for people. (For those who survive and wish to avoid future events…)

Thanks again for piping in. Good luck with your new exercise routine! Sounds awesome.

You might not be in the choir, but it sounds like you are in the congregation. I sympathize with your point of view to a certain extent, but there are some difficulties with pursuing the second voice. Can you think of someone who would present that view? It is a pretty polarized discussion paleo vs vegan. The science on both sides is a bit cherry picked. One of the problems is that if you ask most people they will tell you that they have a good diet. Reading comments section in NYTimes on a Mark Bittman article one sees moderation being stressed as the most important factor in dietary judgement. Clearly with all the health problems in this country I think that moderate needs to be reset much further in the direction of whole plant foods. I haven’t seen much science to convince me that at best animal products should play more than a tiny part of anyone’s diet. I continue to thank and support Dr. Greger and his team for their work.

So you’re basically asking the Dr. to give you a reason to eat animal products. But the truth is that you shouldn’t. “Baby steps” are not what he’s going for. There is no better meat. No not even grass fed organic. There is no better milk. He not here to baby people, he’s doing this to provide facts. It’s science not therapy.

There are no studies that show that animal products increase lifespan and reduce chronic disease risk, they do the opposite as the abundance of evidence shows. Dr. Greger is not creating these studies, he’s drawing them from journals and showing them. The whole point of NF is to show people the evidence to prevent chronic disease and increase the quality of their health. Dr. Greger constantly brings about counter evidence, or evidence of the old paradigm, and shows how it is flawed in a very key way. 2 of the best examples of this are the BOLD study and how the renal acid load of meat does not affect bone health.http://nutritionfacts.org/video/bold-indeed-beef-lowers-cholesterol/http://nutritionfacts.org/video/alkaline-diets-animal-protein-and-calcium-loss/

Do even vegans have a similar concentrations of these two compounds? I would assume than long term vegans would have little to no alpha gal since it would have been a long time since they last ate pork.

Antibody concentrations in vegans are little studied. One study of gluten-free vegan diets in rheumatoid arthritis patients found ~35% reduction in antibodies against β-lactoglobulin (from dairy), and 30 to 65% reduction in antibodies against gliadin (from wheat). So perhaps vegans have fewer of the anti-α galactose and anti-Neu5Gc antibodies as well.

For a crisp, yet approachable, introduction to chemical glycobiology, here’s a two-part lecture by Carolyn Bertozzi, a leading expert in this field. In particular, she describes the notion of blood types in relation to the chains of sugar molecules (glycans) that are attached to our red blood cells, and of the work being done to image glycans in real-time and for what purposes.
Part 1:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCbg-kOY_8E
Part 2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g17QmtZOyWc

Just saw the two lectures, just damn interesting ! The only catch for me was when she explain how to stop white blood cell from the bloodstream to reach tissus with anti-inflammatory drugs, to stop inflammation (Part 1 at 36:58). But wait, that is a normal and healthy process we evolved to protect us ! The reason why this procress is going out of control is because of pro-inflamatory factors from our environnment, not the lack of anti-inflammatory drugs, Am I right ?

What I understand Ms. Bertozzi saying is that it is normal for leukocytes to stick to the inside of the blood vessels within lymph nodes, but when this happens inside our blood vessels, it is among the first stages of atherosclerotic plaque formation, which is abnormal. Perhaps you have seen Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn present his iconic lecture on making oneself ‘heart attack proof,” by eating a low-fat WFPB diet? When he says, “Things get sticky,” what he is talking about is endothelial cell activation (bad) that begins the process of athersclerosis. Honestly, I thought about this simple phrase for weeks and really wanted to understand what was going on here. I studied the literature (as a layman and student of this material), and I attach links to papers that dig in deep (pardon the pun) and have satisfied my curiosity that I now understand what ‘sticky’ means. Also, I’ll post a link to Dr. Esselstyn’s lecture to which I refer. Have a great day!http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/108/16/1917.full.pdf+html

Thank you Lawrence! I can only guess that this process is also involved in atherosclerosis but I’m not sure that was Ms Bertozzi point. She talk about leucocytes doing damage once they reach the tissus, in auto-imune/inflamatory disease. Thanks any way for your links, I guess a good reminder can’t be bad.

NO VEGETABLEs DURING RADIATION! ?
A very close 75 yr old friend long of SAD diet was told by his oncologist that while receiving 30 days of radiation for his stage 7 prostate cancer, that he should avoid vegetables so as not to have any diarrhea of which he had a bit at the beginning of treatment. Apparently diarrhea is common with this treatment. Dr. Gregger, is this a good idea given the circumstances? The pt is a doctor, and trusts his UCSF oncologist. Since some fruit is OK, we are making pink juice and black bean brownies for him. Is there not another way to ward off diarrhea? We had planned to regale him with green smoothies, but…

Is it only to prevent diarrhea or is it because anti-oxydant can interfere with the treatment ? I think Dr Greger said that this wasn’t true, but I can’t find the video, anybody ? I think you’ll be more efficient if you email Dr Greger directly. He used to answers every question here, but that wasn’t long before the website grew huge!

Thank you, Adrien for looking and for responding. It is wonderful to be part of this community! How do I email Dr. Greger directly? I would be happy to pay him. He must be so overwhelmed. If I could find something in peer-review print, my dear friend, a psychiatrist married to a super-famous immunologist might pay more attention.

Hi, I have a question about what the best diet is when you’ve been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s? There seems to be a lot of conflicting information, particularly around iodine? I’ve been prescribed thyroxin for the rest of my life and would like to see if changing my diet could help to manage it – either to reduce my dosage or get off it completely.

Hello there! I have a friend who recently got Lyme disease, and antibiotics haven’t been working for him. He’d like to change his diet and see if he can beat this. The only dietary guidance he’s been given so far is to keep his sugar intake below 10g.

So my questions are:

1) Should he be concerned about sugar in fruits, or in other whole food sources?

I have been suffering with chronic Lyme disease now for 4 years and trying to find expert advice on following a vegan diet to support/strengthen my immune system in the fight of this complex disease. There are plenty of well-meaning physicians who address Lyme with specific diets, but usually the diets involve the consumption of meat and fish (to get omega 3s), and the cutting of grains, beans, sugar and dairy. With so much confusing and conflicting Lyme nutrition advice circulating, I was wondering what your thoughts were in tackling Lyme disease with a vegan diet. I choose not to eat meat or other animal products, and I can cut out grains and beans, but I would prefer to hear from you first before I do that. Many people with chronic Lyme disease are suffering and floundering around, trying to understand how to best nip this disease at the root. Your nutrition advice will be a big asset for Lymies who choose to stick with a vegan diet, as it will support the body in its efforts to heal and recover.

Linda-Marie, Sorry to hear you’ve long been dealing with Lyme’s Disease and appreciate that you are receiving some conflicting advice. Before you give up those healthy whole grains, please re-consider and look for the science about negative affects of whole grains. There are MANY studies confirming the benefits of whole grains. You can start with NutritionFacts.org video: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/gut-microbiome-strike-it-rich-with-whole-grains/ and perhaps then check out the studies listed for references. As far as obtaining your Omega-3s, there are healthy ways to do that, as you’ve already concluded by relaying on flax seed and supplemental plant-based Omega-3s Check on the NutritionFacts.org on these subjects and review this video as well on inflammation: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/boosting-immunity-while-reducing-inflammation/
I did a search through PubMed data base and can confirm there are no scientific studies listed that identify a Lyme’s Disease diet or any guidance regarding avoiding grains, so you are so correct in stating there are many unfounded claims out there. Beware and follow what the nutritional plan we know is most closely associated with lowered inflammation and improved overall health, a whole food plant-based approach. Best of health to you as your body recovers.

I really enjoyed the video but would love to get more research on diet and tick borne diseases. I am on the board of a state lyme association and have had amazing healing through a plant based diet. A brief health history…at 12 I was diagnosised with fibromyalgia but it is now discovered that this is when I contracted tick borne disease. June 2014 (25 years later) I was finally diagnosised with tick borne diseases but this was after 3 major spine surgeries, countless procedures to try and eliminate pain, and numerous medications. Once diagnosised with tick borne disease I was treated with a cocktail of IV antibotics through a PICC line for 2.5 YEARS! I continued to remain very ill and just wanted to die…literally my husband and I would discuss me ending my life and would fight about it because I was saying I can’t go on and he was telling me to hold on because there were other things we could try. May of this year I went to an intensive 18 day in-patient detox clinic where I learned about the damage that processed food was causing us. Granted I thought I ate healthy in the past so it could not be my diet. Turns out I was VERY wrong. June of this year I watched What The Health and that day I decided to be a plant based vegan. 4 days after the transition I had greatly decreased hip, knee, and joint pain and my crippling fatigue lifted. I feel better today than I have in years! Going back to the Lyme Association, I would like to share more information with the group but am constantly challenged on scientific evidence. I can share my personal story but to discuss this with the researchers writing treatment guidelines for tick borne disease I need to show them the science. Any help would be greatly appreciated ad tick borne disease is the #1 vector borne disease in the country.

When I search Nutritionfacts.org for “angeoedema” this video appears after the search. However, I didn’t hear any mention of angioedema in the video. Does anyone have experience about the causes of angioedema? My physician is saying there is “no known cause” but I can’t help but think there is a food connection or, perhaps, some research on angioedema that does point to causes.

angioedema can have various different causes, in many cases the cause is unknown. Usually it’s result of an allergic reaction (to food, insect bite, latex…) – this is called allergic angioedema; various medications, such as ACE inhibitors, ibuprofen or other NSAIDs, other triggers may include: stress, anxiety, genetics, pregnancy, infection, contraceptive pill or even hot or cold temperatures and exercise.

Hi Adam, Thanks for your reply. It really seems like one would have to be a very good detective to figure out which of those many possibilities could be causing the reaction. I wish there were more information, but it could be worse so I’ll count my blessings. Thanks!

I did a quick literature search to see what might be available on Lyme disease and a whole food, plant-based diet. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything. In fact, I couldn’t even find a study on diet in general and Lyme disease. But hopefully someday in the future!

Since I had the time, I also looked for articles on lyme disease and diet and like Cody could not find any good research articles although one in Clin Infect Dis. periodical did review many alternative approaches and concluded that unorthodox nutritional approaches were not shown to be effective. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25852124 Still recognizing that Lyme disease can affect the immunity, enhancing one’s immune system by eating a whole food plant based diet certainly seems reasonable, even if it hasn’t specifically been “put to the test.”